Come one, come all to the internet’s most defensive comics and pop culture podcast! Erik and Zane discuss the events of possibly the weirdest week in comics news; Neil Gaiman returns to Marvel bringing Angela with him! Axel Alonso announces What If ? – AvX and promises plenty of titles for Marvel NOW! wave 2. And of course, in DC news, Joshua Hail Fialkov leaves GREEN LANTERN and Andy Diggle leaves ACTION COMICS before their first issues hit the stands! Zane reviews INJUSTICE #1, which is, honestly, one of his favourite comics of the year…CONTROVERSY! Erik talks about WONDER WOMAN #18 and recommends one of his favourite blogs, http://thegothamrogue.wordpress.com/! In other news, Zane has a near-brush with death, Erik enjoys a Spaghetti Western retrospective, evacuates a library during a fire, and can’t open a jar of peanut butter. You can stream the show here, or subscribe on iTunes (and leaving a review would be a great help!).

BUTTON MASHING

Zane discusses the new SKYRIM expansions, and also his thoughts on the game in general – he finds the story disappointing, but the immersive world completely addicting. Erik offers an update on PAPER MARIO: STICKER STAR – which suffers from a lack of motivation to engage in battles.

BOOKS WITHOUT PICTURES

It’s a triple threat as Erik rambles on about Michael Dahlie’s THE BEST OF YOUTH, Ben Brooks’ GROW UP and Paul Auster’s WINTER JOURNAL. The first two are both coming of age tales, but are vastly different, and we discuss why one works and one doesn’t, and our thoughts on story structure in general. Then, a quick note on a sprawling memoir across time, painfully human and ultimately hopeful.

THE PURE MOOD MAIL BAG

We answer questions and comments from YOU, the listener! Andrey offers his thoughts on why Carnage is totally stronger than Venom and Spider-man, because they had to team-up in the ’90s to beat him. Erik and Zane attempt to answer sincerely, but wind up being the condescending horrible people you know so well. Then, xmenxpert mentions the lack of chemistry in Venom and Valkyrie’s relationship, which is SO wrong, you guys. And @comics_4kids asks a question so shocking and controversial IT MUST BE HEARD TO BE BELIEVED.

Thanks for listening and remember, if you’d like to hear your question/comment read on the show, just e-mail us at thepuremood [at] gmail [dot] com or leave a comment on the site! You can also tweet us @thepuremood or @manwitnovoice, and check us out at tumblr with the same handles. That’s it for this week’s show, we’ll see you in seven days time for THE PURE MOOD PODCAST #15!